CHARLESTON, S.C. (Nov. 14, 2014) – The ETSU volleyball team picked up its fifth straight win as the Bucs defeated The Citadel in four sets (25-17, 25-12, 25-27, 25-18) on Friday night inside McAlister Fieldhouse.

Playing its final regular season matches of the season, ETSU saw four players post double-digit kills, while the Bucs hit .305 (66-15-167) as a team. Overall, the Blue and Gold were led by senior Ivey Rice (Johnson City, Tenn.) as she totaled a match-high 16 kills and fellow senior Meredith Hardy (Kingsport, Tenn.) hit .526 (11-1-19) and added five blocks. Freshman Rylee Milhorn (Kingsport, Tenn.) collected her second double-double of the year (12 kills/15 digs), while senior Bethany Gesell (High Point, N.C.) posted 12 kills and nine digs. Meanwhile, sophomore Kristen Favre (Plano, Texas) and senior Jamie Rutledge (Kingsport, Tenn.) quarterbacked the Bucs’ offense as they accounted for 47 of their 54 assists. Favre led the way with 24 assists, five digs and three kills, and Rutledge dished out 23 assists.

To go with its attack percentage, ETSU was plus-24 in kills (66-42), plus-10 in digs (73-63), plus-3 in blocks (9-6) and plus-7 in service aces (10-3). Milhorn had five of the aces for the Blue and Gold.

The Bucs, who improved to 13-0 all-time against the Bulldogs, improved to 16-15, 10-5, while The Citadel moved to 8-24, 0-15.

ETSU’s offense came out firing on all cylinders to start the match, as the Bucs hit .421 (17-1-38) and claimed the opening set, 25-17. The early stages of the first set were tightly contested, but with the Bucs trailing 7-6, ETSU rattled off five straight scores to go ahead, 11-7, forcing The Citadel to call timeout. The Blue and Gold never trailed from that juncture and ETSU extended its lead to six when Favre found Rice for a kill, making it an 18-12 score. The Bucs put the finishing touches on the set by winning the final three points to secure the eight-point win. Hardy had a hand in the final three points as her sixth kill of the stanza jump-started the surge, while also earning a pair of block assists to end the frame.

Like the first set, play was nip-and-tuck early on in the second, but ETSU kicked its play into a higher gear midway through the stanza en route to earning a 13-point victory, 25-12. With the Bulldogs clinging to a 7-6 advantage, the Bucs closed the set on a 19-5 run to register the convincing win. Junior Khadijah Wiley (Columbus, Ga.) and Milhorn were dominate in the frame as they both recorded five kills, while Gesell added four kills (.500 attack percentage), three digs and two blocks. As a team, ETSU hit .457 (18-2-35) in the second.

Unfortunately, the Bucs couldn’t finish off the Bulldogs in three as The Citadel survived a see-saw battle in the third to extend the match following its 27-25 win. The third set saw 12 ties and five lead changes, but with the score knotted at 25, the Bulldogs got back-to-back kills by Megan Sowell and Ise d’ Angelo to end the frame.

However, after getting off to a sluggish start in the fourth, the Blue and Gold responded and closed out the match with a 25-18 win. The Bulldogs won six of the first seven points of the stanza, but ETSU mounted a 9-3 run to go ahead, 10-9. From there, The Citadel pulled even at 13, but the Bucs strung together four unanswered points to regain control and put the match away. Wiley, Gesell and Favre all posted kills for the Bucs during the spurt, while Rutledge and Milhorn combined for the block, giving the Blue and Gold momentum. Overall, ETSU won 12 of the final 17 points to wrap up the set and match. Six different Buccaneers recorded a kill in the frame – Gesell and Hardy both totaled four.

Senior Katie Muey (Alexandria, Ind.) led all players with 22 digs and Wiley pitched in with eight kills and three blocks. Junior Jessica Schafer (Dekalb, Ill.) came off the bench to add three kills for the Bucs.

Offensively, The Citadel was led by Bailey Kernodle (14 kills) and Megan Sowell (10 kills), while Rachel Keefer finished with 27 assists and 12 digs for a double-double.

The Bucs conclude the regular season on Saturday afternoon when ETSU plays at Mercer. First serve is set for 1 p.m.

ETSU fans wanting to receive Buccaneer news, score updates, in-game promotions and much more sent to their mobile device can do so by signing up for “Buc Updates.” Click here to sign up today!

For more information on Buccaneer volleyball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the volleyball page.

The Bucs conclude the regular season on Saturday afternoon when ETSU plays at Mercer. First serve is set for 1 p.m.

ETSU fans wanting to receive Buccaneer news, score updates, in-game promotions and much more sent to their mobile device can do so by signing up for “Buc Updates.” Click here to sign up today!

For more information on Buccaneer volleyball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the volleyball page.